Archive for May, 2012

Asa Kusuma has always been interested in computer science. His father, an information technology manager, taught him how to use HTML at the age of 11. In elementary school, his project for the science fair was about information management. His high school, a magnet school that focuses on science and technology, offered computer science courses for each grade level. Asa took one every year.

Since he had attended one of the top high schools in the nation, Asa had plenty of options when it came to choosing a college. He had visited ACU in high school and liked the feel of the campus. He also wanted to experience something new and different.

“I like seeing new things, trying new things,” he said. Abilene was certainly a change from the suburbs of Washington, D.C. The biggest surprise about ACU was that “it’s really windy all the time,” he joked. More »

“I was born to communicate,” says Braid (Sharp ’04) Blanks. “I can’t remember not expressing myself or having the desire to share with others and listen as they shared with me.”

Now, as news anchor of Abilene’s KTXS-TV, she communicates on a daily basis – and gets paid for it.

“It is always rewarding to hear people say they appreciate the effort that goes into telling a fair and balanced story,” Blanks says. “Knowing they recognize and appreciate that makes all the work, and sometimes frustration, worth it. Aside from that, it’s also rewarding to be able to tell friends and family in my hometown what’s going on around us.” More »

Speech pathologist on the brain injury team, Institute for Rehabilitation and Research in Houston

When Jamie Stephen came to ACU, she knew she was interested in the medical field but was unsure which direction to take. Then she discovered speech pathology and realized she’d found a calling.

“It was a good way to be involved in the medical field, but to have lots of options as well,” she said.

Jamie currently works at the Institute for Rehabilitation and Research in Houston as a speech pathologist. She’s primarily concerned with in-patient rehabilitation, working with six or seven patients at a time. Since she’s on the brain injury team, she sees many stroke patients and patients who have sustained traumatic brain injuries. More »